Tell me if you’ve heard this one before.

You’re in a meeting with a client. They are excited about some new offer, product, upgrade, whatever. You listen intently. Then they start talking about the advertising.

And that’s when you feel it coming. You may even cringe a bit in preparation.

That’s when they say they want the advertising to be like Apple’s or Nike’s.

First of all. Why does everyone want their advertising to be like someone else’s? Shouldn’t companies be striving to create their own identity?

Secondly, why do you think you can have advertising like Apple or Nike when your company is nothing like either one?

Nike was an advertising pioneer, taking a leap of faith that standing for something bigger than their product would actually help them sell more of it. I think we all know how that turned out.

Apple realized that all the advertising in the world wouldn’t mean a thing if their product sucked. So they built innovative, unique products. Not surprisingly, this led to innovative, unique advertising.

So, to the client who wants their advertising to be of a similar caliber, I ask—what do you stand for? What makes your product unique?

Once you answer those questions, I can guarantee you will get much better advertising than you are getting now.

And if you’re lucky, it won’t be anything like Apple’s or Nike’s.

- TJ Bennett